You’ve probably noticed there haven’t been much activity on this website in recent months. Sorry about that. And you’re probably left wondering what the hell just happened after I didn’t post anything for quite a while after my heartfelt post on finding my soulmate to travel with. It proved too much for a reader here who promptly sent me an email a few days ago:
‘Where the hell have you been?! Are you okay?!’
I was perplexed at first, thinking what warranted this. Until I realised. I left things on a slightly down note last time and I wasn’t to be heard for yonks. Perhaps they thought I was curled up in a corner drowning my sorrows or simply gone walkabout. Oops. I didn’t mean to do it. And I’ll tell you why.
1. It involved a Bridesmaid…
Shortly after THAT post, I was at yet another wedding in the UK. But this was to be even a special one because it involved a bridesmaid… by bridesmaid, I mean me! Yes, you read that right, I was a bridesmaid. Or Man Maid, or Bridesman. Take your pick. You know about this already through the Hen Do in Leicester I went on but this time, it was the real deal. I’d be walking the aisle in front of the Bride, who happens to be one of my best friends.
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Check out my converses!
It was an absolutely magic of a day full of laughter, tears of joy and questionable dance moves fueled by a huge round of appreciation for a variety of Rum liqueurs at the bar. So where did they get married? In the beautiful timber-framed 600 year old Great Hall of the Guildhall in the heart of Leicester that had people wowed with wonder. Afterwards, we had the wedding breakfast in the Maiyango Hotel & Restaurant, which offered a skyline view of Leicester City up high on their terrace balcony. What’s more, the hotel is only two minutes walking distance from King Richard III’s burial site if you fancy checking out some history. It was a truly emotional day and it was rather interesting to see what happens behind the scenes from the bride’s perspective before the wedding. But that’s another post…
2. It Involved Crossing Enemy Lines…
Immediately after the wedding, I had to hightail it back up to my hometown of Hull for another glamorous event, changing into another suit ready to meet my fellow writers of The Journal in person. But I was very conflicted you see. It involved crossing enemy lines here in the northern city at the Hull Kingston Rovers Rugby League Stadium where we would be watching the team play a French team from the comforts of the 10-5 Lounge. But Hull KR is not my team! It’s actually the team on the other side of Hull where I come from – Hull FC! It was all I could not to start shouting ‘BOOOOO!’ to every single supporter within the vicinity!
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However, an exclusive three course meal was served beforehand and I especially got to know the Cocktails writers pretty well as we all went for drinks afterwards! Check them out, they are Kim Hickson Events.
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3. It Involved A Nordic Country…
Guess what! I was in Finland earlier on this month! Invited by the #TravelHousePorvoo Team to check out what Porvoo had to offer, I was really and utterly pleasantly surprised by my stay there, smashing my expectations. If anything, Finland shot up to within my top 5 favourite countries alongside with New Zealand, Vietnam, Belgium and Spain. So really, I should be telling you in great detail all the activities I really enjoyed whether it was powerboating through the Archipelago, getting hot and sweaty in a Finnish Sauna, jumping into freezing glacier waters in just my tight swimwear, taking a tour of an Organic Farm, eating far too much enough to have food triplets, or simply taking a bike tour of the Old Town. It was all with fantastic writers, bloggers and instagrammers including Fantasy Travel, Katarina Wohlfart, Konsta Punkka, Moma’s Kitchen and Fotostrasse. But I’ll explain more in an article coming to you soon, I cannot wait to write up all about it! Can you see why?
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I didn’t just stay in Porvoo, oh no, no. I went to check out the sights of Finland’s capital city, Helsinki, for a couple of days. It was rather an interesting city that I really couldn’t put my finger on how I felt about the place. But all I know is this: Helsinki has the best transport system in the world! Prompt and frequent buses connect the rather large swathes of the quiet city and more importantly, they play ABBA songs for me to dance to in the gangway. Awesome!
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The White Church of Helsinki
While I was in Helsinki, I was very happy to find out that a good travel blogger friend of mine, Jason of Hiatus4Life was also in town! We had only spoken to each other online so this was a great opportunity to meet in person. So we spent the day together exploring quirky sights including a Rock Church, beautiful cemeteries and sampling eclectic foods. Hopefully, I can meet this tall, loveable guy again!
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So it was time to come back to the UK but not exactly straight home to my town…
4. It Involved a Play Under Train Lines…
Before I went back to Hull, I decided to stay in London for a couple of days due to commitments I made (see below) and two friends of mine allowed me to crash at theirs. One of them had tickets to go and see a preview of a new play called ‘You Should Be So Lucky’ being shown at Above The Stag Theatre. An inspired 1930s screwball comedic twist on Cinderella that has you laughing from start to finish, you couldn’t help but be impressed by the acting quality of the small cast who has to battle with being under the eyes of the 60 seat audience only yards away and make their voices heard above the loud din of the passing trains from Vauxhall Train Station from above. I’d be very happy to go and see another play there again!
5. It Involved Celebrating 25 years…
I was invited by the German National Tourism Office to attend their Annual Press Conference in the Goethe Institute in South Kensington (London). After a delicious champagne breakfast (champs darling!), I was there to hear new campaigns being announced that included: Traditions and Customs 2015, German-British Royal Heritage Route (I’m really intrigued about this), Barrier Free Germany, Sustainability/Rural Regions, The Cabbage Route of Germany (Now this is what I’m going to do!) and many more. It all seemed exciting and actually had me wanting to go back to Germany for the fourth time. Perhaps I’ll shall visit Hanover or Nuremberg?
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So what’s this celebrating 25 years business? Well, did you know it has been 25 years since the Fall of the Berlin Wall thus ending the Cold War? And now it’s the silver anniversary of Germany reunified? I think it was something great to shout about! What do you think?
6. It Involved An American Eating Competition…
Hold the presses! Trek America is announcing a new exciting tour to their range of funky and fantastic line-up in the North Americas! However, it was all hush-hush and I would have to attend their launch at All Star Lanes in Holborn (London), an exclusive American bowling diner deep in the heart of London. Arriving there, I was greeted with delicious foodie delights on my arrival, which allowed a ‘taste’ of what was to come (See what I did there!). Actually, Trek America is launching a foodie based tour called ‘Trek Vs Food,’ that offers a 10 day adventure from New York to New Orleans stopping at culinary places featured on the tv series, Man Vs Food, and also cultural and historical hotspots.
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Now, we all know I love food. I could even eat a scabby ‘orse! My parents are pretty scared when I come home and vacuum up all the food in their house. So it comes to absolutely no surprise that I volunteered myself to do their food eating challenge at the launch party alongside Julie of A Lady in London, Jen of She Gets Around, Michael Ball and Ciaran of Eating London Tours. Why?! Well, the winner would get a mini-adventure to Las Vegas with Trek America! I’ve never been to USA so I would love to have that as my first visit! So here’s what we had to eat in 15 minutes: A Coney Island Hotdog, triple stacked burger and a bowl of extremely…I mean EXTREMELY spicy hot chicken wings! Christ, even the hottest burger in the world I ate in Australia didn’t live up to them!
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So between the 5 of us, we ate and ate without realising the spiciness of the chicken wings! However, after a loooooong 15 minutes, it was all over. Could I have won? Was my engorged belly all for nothing? Actually, I came a close second. Ciaran pipped me to the top and I do heartily congratulate him for eating the ENTIRE bowl of those spicy chicken wings that had me in tears and singing ‘Ring of Fire’ later on that evening… But cracking launch party indeed!
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7. It Involved A Decision…
Well, that sounds ominous doesn’t it? But I think that’s another post…
So here I am back at home in Hull with the dog across my lap and listening to ‘Come Dine With Me’ on TV as I write this. Hence, this is what and where the hell have I been doing for the last month! The next month I believe is going to be quite different but keep an eye out on the blog, there’s some great gems coming your way! Meanwhile, have you checked out my post on Luxembourg City that I shared with you yesterday?
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